Delhi hospitals attend to mock patients alongside medical processes

An order from the ministry of home affairs called on hospitals to strengthen response to “new and complex” threats

New Delhi

Mock drill underway at RML Hospital. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

Stretchers lined entrances as instructors bellowed out the operating procedures through loudspeakers and staffers moved with urgency at Delhi’s hospitals on Wednesday afternoon, as they took part in the nationwide mock drill exercise to test their preparedness for large-scale emergencies.

At 4pm sharp, chaotic scenes enveloped the approach roads of Delhi’s hospitals, including Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital and Lok Nayak Hospital, as ambulances started lining up and medical professionals scampered to treat the heavy influx of patients, as the order from the ministry of home affairs called on hospitals to strengthen response to “new and complex” threats.

Ambulances and vehicles carrying patients started entering RML Hospital from gate number 3, and within minutes, doctors and nurses approached to receive the patients. Amid the drill, the hospital continued to receive patients, as authorities attended to the exercise and medical consultations and treatments simultaneously.

Forty-five-year-old Daulat Ram, a civil defence volunteer who was playing a mock patient, said he was put on a mock saline drip within minutes of reaching the hospital. He was laid on a stretcher and asked for his emergency contact details by police personnel present at the spot.

“This is my first time participating in a mock drill. I was only given instructions to scream and pretend to have been hit in an airstrike. So, I fell on the ground while screaming,” Ram said.

Dr Ajay Shukla, medical superintendent, RML Hospital, said: “We received around 20 patients as part of the drill. While this exercise was aimed at evaluating the hospital’s preparedness for real-time situations, we have made further concrete plans for the hospital in such a situation. As of now, we have informed all doctors that during a real-life situation like this, all hands will be put on deck and hence, they have to be prepared for it. We have made other emergency arrangements at the hospital to gear up for such a scenario.”

At the state-run Lok Nayak Hospital, a similar exercise took place.

“We have made all arrangements today to handle such a situation, and have given a briefing to the staff on how to quickly respond in an emergency such as this one. HODs (heads of departments) of different departments were also made part of the mock drill, as multidisciplinary intervention is required during crises,” a senior official of the hospital said.

Mock drills were also conducted at other government hospitals, including Babu Jag Jivan Hospital in Jahangirpuri, DDU Hospital in Hari Nagar, Charak Palika Hospital, and Government Hospital at Burari and ESIC Hospital.

A section of private hospitals, such as Apollo and Fortis Healthcare, also participated in the mandatory drill.